Identifying Key In Silico Knockout for Enhancement of Limonene Yield Through Dynamic Metabolic Modelling.

Living cells display dynamic and complex behaviors. To understand their response and to infer novel insights not possible with traditional reductionist approaches, over the last few decades various computational modelling methodologies have been developed. In this chapter, we focus on modelling the dynamic metabolic response, using linear and nonlinear ordinary differential equations, of an engineered Escherichia coli MG1655 strain with plasmid pJBEI-6409 that produces limonene.

Effect of an Asian-adapted Mediterranean diet and pentadecanoic acid on fatty liver disease: the TANGO randomized controlled trial.

Background: Weight loss is the most effective treatment for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). There is evidence that the Mediterranean diets rich in unsaturated fatty acids and fiber have beneficial effects on weight homeostasis and metabolic risk factors in individuals with NAFLD. Studies have also shown that higher circulating concentrations of pentadecanoic acid (C15:0) are associated with a lower risk for NAFLD.

Reconsidering the Use of Population Health Surveys for Monitoring of Mental Health.

Monitoring of the mental health status of the population and assessment of its determinants are 2 of the most relevant pillars of public mental health, and data from population health surveys could be instrumental to support them. Although these surveys could be an important and suitable resource for these purposes, due to different limitations and challenges, they are often relegated to the background behind other data sources, such as electronic health records. These limitations and challenges include those related to measurement properties and cross-cultural validity of the tools used for the assessment of mental disorders, their degree of representativeness, and possible difficulties in the linkage with other data sources.

Personalised care and support planning in Singapore: qualitative interviews with people living with diabetes.

Background: Personalised care and support planning (CSP) is a person-centred approach for the care of people living with long-term conditions. Patient Activation through Community Empowerment/Engagement for Diabetes Management (PACE-D) adapts the Year of Care Partnerships (YOCP) approach to CSP in the UK for people living with diabetes at Singapore polyclinics. Polyclinics are multi-storey primary care hubs that provide affordable, multidisciplinary, comprehensive, and high-throughput public health care for the multi-ethnic, multilingual Singapore population.

Expanding access to high-cost medicines under the Universal Health Coverage scheme in Thailand: review of current practices and recommendations.

Background: There has been an increasing demand to reimburse high-cost medicines, through public health insurance schemes in Thailand.

Methods: A mixed method approach was employed. First, a rapid review of select high-income countries was conducted, followed by expert consultations and an in-depth review of three countries: Australia, England and Republic of Korea to understand reimbursement mechanisms of high-cost medicines.

Diagnostic Test Accuracy of artificial intelligence-assisted detection of acute coronary syndrome: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) has potential uses in healthcare including the detection of health conditions and prediction of health outcomes. Past systematic reviews had reviewed the accuracy of artificial neural networks (ANN) on Electrocardiogram (ECG) readings but that of other AI models on other Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) detection tools remains unclear.

Methods: Nine electronic databases were searched from 2012 to 31 August 2022 including grey literature search and hand searching of references of included articles.

MixNet-LD: An Automated Classification System for Multiple Lung Diseases Using Modified MixNet Model.

The lungs are critical components of the respiratory system because they allow for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide within our bodies. However, a variety of conditions can affect the lungs, resulting in serious health consequences. Lung disease treatment aims to control its severity, which is usually irrevocable.

Serrated colorectal cancer: preclinical models and molecular pathways.

Serrated lesions are histologically heterogeneous, and detection can be challenging as these lesions have subtle features that may be missed by endoscopy. Furthermore, while approximately 30% of colorectal cancers (CRCs) arise from serrated lesions, only 8-10% of invasive serrated CRCs exhibit serrated morphology at presentation, suggesting potential loss of apparent characteristics with increased malignancy. Thus, understanding the genetic basis driving serrated CRC initiation and progression is critical to improve diagnosis and identify therapeutic biomarkers and targets to guide disease management.

The effect of glycine administration on the characteristics of physiological systems in human adults: A systematic review.

Functional decline of physiological systems during ageing leads to age-related diseases. Dietary glycine increases healthy lifespan in model organisms and might decrease inflammation in humans, suggesting its geroprotective potential. This review summarises the evidence of glycine administration on the characteristics of eleven physiological systems in adult humans.

Association Between a State-Level Fat Tax and Fast Food Purchases.

Importance: India faces an increasing obesity problem, including in the Indian state of Kerala in which the fat tax was implemented but was nullified 11 months later. A fat tax, defined as a tax on unhealthy foods, may be associated with changes in food purchases and outcomes for multiple diet-related diseases.

Objective: To investigate the association between the state-level fat tax and fast food purchases in Kerala, India.

RDS-DR: An Improved Deep Learning Model for Classifying Severity Levels of Diabetic Retinopathy.

A well-known eye disorder called diabetic retinopathy (DR) is linked to elevated blood glucose levels. Cotton wool spots, confined veins in the cranial nerve, AV nicking, and hemorrhages in the optic disc are some of its symptoms, which often appear later. Serious side effects of DR might include vision loss, damage to the visual nerves, and obstruction of the retinal arteries.

Growing Up in Singapore with allergies - Lessons learnt from the GUSTO & S-PRESTO cohorts.

Healthcare systems across the world face major challenges due to allergic diseases, known to affect people of all ages. In Singapore, two prominent cohort studies, Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) and the Singapore PREconception Study of long-Term maternal and child Outcomes (S-PRESTO), have made notable advancements to our knowledge and understanding of allergic diseases. These cohorts, which comprised of healthy mother-infant dyads recruited from the healthy Singapore population, have shed light on the complex connections between factors influencing health in early life, preconception and pregnancy, on the pathogenesis of allergic disorders in offspring.

Targeted Plasma Metabolomics Reveals Association of Acute Myocardial Infarction Risk with the Dynamic Balance between Trimethylamine--oxide, Betaine, and Choline.

The relationship between trimethylamine--oxide (TMAO), betaine, and choline with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) end point remains unclear. We analyzed plasma TMAO, betaine, and choline concentrations in AMI cases and non-AMI community-dwelling controls by LC-MS/MS to understand how the balance between these metabolites helps to reduce AMI risk. Results showed that the odds ratio (OR) for the highest versus lowest quartiles of betaine was 0.

Gastric epithelial stem cells in development, homeostasis and regeneration.

The stem/progenitor cell pool is indispensable for the development, homeostasis and regeneration of the gastric epithelium, owing to its defining ability to self-renew whilst supplying the various functional epithelial lineages needed to digest food efficiently. A detailed understanding of the intricacies and complexities surrounding the behaviours and roles of these stem cells offers insights, not only into the physiology of gastric epithelial development and maintenance, but also into the pathological consequences following aberrations in stem cell regulation. Here, we provide an insightful synthesis of the existing knowledge on gastric epithelial stem cell biology, including the in vitro and in vivo experimental techniques that have advanced such studies.

4D-Printed Hydrogel Actuators through Diffusion-Path Architecture Design.

Recently, smart hydrogels have garnered considerable attention as biomedical devices, and several approaches have been introduced for their fabrication, including the incorporation of stimulus-responsive additives, utilization of molecular imprinting techniques, and application of multilayered hydrogels. However, the nonuniform properties resulting from these approaches limit the practical applications of hydrogels by causing inconsistent performance and behavior. In this study, we propose a novel approach to manipulating the swelling kinetics of hydrogels by engineering their diffusion-path architecture.

MOF-Thermogel Composites for Differentiated and Sustained Dual Drug Delivery.

In recent years, multidrug therapy has gained increasing popularity due to the possibility of achieving synergistic drug action and sequential delivery of different medical payloads for enhanced treatment efficacy. While a number of composite material release platforms have been developed, few combine the bottom-up design versatility of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to tailor drug release behavior, with the convenience of temperature-responsive hydrogels (or thermogels) in their unique ease of administration and formulation. Yet, despite their potential, MOF-thermogel composites have been largely overlooked for simultaneous multidrug delivery.

Plasma Metanephrines Yield Fewer False-Positive Results Than Urine Metanephrines in Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Context: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with increased nocturnal sympathetic activity. In OSA patients, elevations in metanephrines may lead to false-positive tests when evaluating for pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma (PPGL).

Objective: To evaluate whether morning plasma metanephrines would lead to fewer false-positive results than 24-hour urinary metanephrines in OSA patients.

Yeo's index: A novel index that combines anatomic and haemodynamic assessment of the severity of mitral stenosis.

Background: A mitral leaflet separation index (MLSI), measuring the anatomical separation of the mitral valve (MV) leaflet tips in diastole, was previously described as an accurate method of assessing mitral stenosis (MS). We propose a novel modification of the MLSI by including a hemodynamic assessment which we term Yeo's index that may improve its diagnostic performance.

Methods And Results: We retrospectively studied 174 patients with varying severity of MS without significant mitral regurgitation, aortic valve disease or ventricular septal defect.

Triplet maintenance therapy of olaparib, pembrolizumab and bevacizumab in women with BRCA wild-type, platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer: the multicenter, single-arm phase II study OPEB-01/APGOT-OV4.

In this multicenter, open-label, single-arm, Phase II study with Simon two-stage optimum design (NCT04361370), we investigate the efficacy and safety of triplet maintenance (olaparib, pembrolizumab, bevacizumab) in patients with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer who are wild-type for BRCA 1/2. A total of 44 patients were enrolled, and the median follow-up duration was 22.9 months (interquartile range: 17.

Evaluation of the Abbott Alinity i Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone Receptor Antibody (TRAb) Chemiluminescent Microparticle Immunoassay (CMIA).

We evaluated the performance of the Abbott thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor antibody chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay (CMIA) on the Alinity i. Verification studies for precision, linearity, analytical measuring range, diagnostic cut offs for Graves' disease were performed. We compared the Abbott CMIA to an established TRAb assay (Roche electrochemiluminescence immunoassay).

Point-of-care testing in private pharmacy and drug retail settings: a narrative review.

Background: Point-of-care testing (POCT) using rapid diagnostic tests for infectious disease can potentially guide appropriate use of antimicrobials, reduce antimicrobial resistance, and economise use of healthcare resources. POCT implementation in private retail settings such as pharmacies and drug shops could lessen the burden on public healthcare. We performed a narrative review on studies of POCTs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and explored uptake, impact on treatment, and feasibility of implementation.